Unwanted Birth Control Advice Gets Utah Woman Banned

[rainbabies]

LOGAN, Utah — A 76-year-old woman has been barred from the bus station after giving unwanted birth-control advice to mothers with large families.

"I think it's wrong. It's a violation of my First Amendment rights," Laura Stevens said.

She was arrested Tuesday for trespassing, a misdemeanor, according to police records.

"She's been making comments to some of the Hispanic passengers that they should be on the pill, that they're taking over our society," said Todd Beutler, general manager of the Cache Valley Transit District.

"The passengers have a right to ride and not be intimidated," he said.

Stevens said she recently noticed a mother struggling to control her six children.

"I felt sorry for her. Maybe she doesn't know that she could get a patch and not have a kid for five years," Stevens said.

She said she will fight the trespassing charge when she appears in Logan's Municipal Court on Tuesday.

"We want her to ride the bus," Beutler said. "We just need to make sure that she's not harassing any other passengers."

is it wrong that i found this shocking and (a little) funny at the same time?

"I felt sorry for her. Maybe she doesn't know that she could get a patch and not have a kid for five years," Stevens said.

How rude.

Should she be arrested for speaking rudely? No - the jails are already overflowing. If she's harrassing (in their face, etc.), then I guess she probably did break some law. But if she's just standing there being rude ... I can't see how they arrested her.

[Vanquisher]

Utah's an f'ed up place. Nuff said. Oh, and I am headed there on Tuesday.

I actually found it funny. Like those street preachers who call women sluts because their ankles are exposed. Sometimes the nuts can be entertaining.

Rude but if it is illegal to be a jerk in Utah, I have a few people I'd like to send on a little vacation. :>

[Ravenclaw]

Wow. What a jerk! I can't see how she could be arrested though.

[Rapunzel]

I think the woman certainly has a First Ammendment right to her opinion - and the public expression of that opinion.

However, if she was spouting this unwanted advice to a captive audience (ie people on a bus who could literally not choose to get away from her as is their right as well) then it IS harassment.

I think there might be some blank spots in this story, though. To be arrested for harassment wouldn't you have to have repeatedly been asked to simmer down? Or wouldn't there have to be some extreme belligerence involved? So, I can't say she should or shouldn't have been arrested - it sounds very much like it was one of those "had-to-be-there" situations.

[diggitydot]

Everyone has the right to make an ass of themselves. Sounds like this old bird just took to the nth degree.

And I totally agree with whomever posted that if she was making snide comments in the middle of the trip, where riders were unable to disembark, I can understand it being considered "harassment".

Hmmm, she's not just rude...also racist.
Maybe she never heard, "If you can't say something nice...then keep your trap shut" or something like that.